The Slavonic Library (Prague) and Its Transformations: 1924-2024

• In Event: Celebrating Three Historic Slavic Collections On Their Anniversary Year: New York, Prague, and Helsinki

Abstract

The paper will describe the main development stages through which the Prague Slavonic Library has passed in the hundred years of its existence and will present its role in the field of the contemporary Slavic Studies librarianship. Since its foundation, it has evolved from an institution originally intended to support the activities of emigration from the collapsed Russian Empire into a library that represents one of the centers of Czech and international Slavic Studies. Its holdings include nearly one million volumes, it has been actively participating in professional projects of Slavic Studies librarianship, and it has been gradually digitizing the most important parts of its collection, the most frequently sought after by Slavic scholars.

Author

• Lukáš Babka, National Library of the Czech Republic (Czech Republic)